Waking early, the farm and surrounding hillside was peaceful and quiet.  There was a slight chill in the air, which disappeared with the rising sun, but which also created a smoky mist in the valleys toward the coast.  We made rooibos tea and had a steamy shower before getting an early start.  Poking around the village of Wilderness, we ended up having a big breakfast at Ronde View Cafe.  My scrambled eggs with aged cheddar, grilled tomato and a side of lamb sausage and macon was beyond tasty.  Coffee was strong and sweet, with 5-Rand refills.

We drove to Outshoorn, ostrich capital and checked into the Backpackers Paradise.  This was a very cool spot, with big rooms and a spread-out layout that made it seem uncrowded and chill.  We did a tour of an Ostrich Palace (dating from the early-1900’s ostrich heyday when feathers were worth as much as gold) and working farm.  We got to stand on the eggs, which can support a lot of weight, and learned some history and facts.  I was also able to ride and ostrich, which was scary but tons of fun!

Dinner was one of our best on the trip so far.  The restaurant was called Paljas, and Donny had an ostrich fillet (an obvious choice in this town) with grilled pear and brie, while I had a traditional bobotie, which was like a South African version of picadillo, with ground meat, raisins, apricots, curry, but baked in a light flaky crust on top and served with pumpkin fritters and yellow rice.  We shared a bottle of local pinotage wine.

Outshoorn photos.